Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros 4/17/23
The Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game series on the road Monday against the Houston Astros. Toronto improved to 10-5 after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Saturday, Toronto has won each of its first two games of a three-game series with Tampa Bay and has handed the Rays their only two losses in 15 games. The Blue Jays are second in the American League East, three games behind first place Tampa Bay.
Third baseman Matt Chapman is batting .453 to lead Toronto and has team highs in RBIs with 15 and on base percentage at .517. Shortstop Bo Bichette is the leader in home runs four and hits with 25. Toronto is batting .282 with a slugging percentage of .420. On Monday the Toronto Blue Jays will send Kevin Gausman to the mound. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA and 25 Ks.
Houston improved to 7-8 following an 8-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. Yordan Alvarez had three RBIs in the victory for Houston. Houston has won four of the last six but the Astros are just third in the American League West, 1 ½ games behind the first place Texas Rangers. Houston will conclude its three game series with the Rangers on Sunday.
Second baseman Mauricio Dubon is batting .356 to lead Houston, while right fielder Kyle Tucker is the leader in home runs with four and in on base percentage at .438. Left fielder Yordan Alvarez is the leader in RBI's with 20 and first baseman Jose Abreu is the leader in hits with 16. On Monday, the Houston Astros will send Cristian Javier to the mound. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA and 14 Ks.
Toronto has won five of its last six and the Blue Jays have won eight of the last 11 versus an opponent from the AL West. Toronto starting pitcher Kevin Gausman has allowed only three earned runs on 17 hits across 20 innings for an ERA of 1.35. Houston starter Cristian Javier is coming off a tough outing after allowing four runs on five hits across six innings in a 7-4 loss to Pittsburgh last Tuesday. Final Score Prediction, Toronto Blue Jays win 6-2.
